Civil Rights March on Washington

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Transcript of Civil Rights March on Washington

THE MARCH ON WASHINGTONFOR JOBS AND FREEDOM CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENTS COALITION The leaders of several civil rights organisations, known as the `Big Six' and a number of religious groups organised the event. James Farmer (CORE)Martin Luther King Jr. (SCCC)John Lewis (SNCC) A. Phillip Randolph (BSCP)Roy Wilkins (NAACP)Whitney Young Jr. (NUL) JFK began to support to event after it became apparent it would go ahead despite his discouragement. He feared the March would cause legislature to vote against civil rights laws. WHO TOOK PART? Estimated 250,000 people attended. 1/4 of whom were white. Entertainment was provided by many American artists including: Bob DylanMarian AndersonPeter, Paul and MaryMahalia JacksonJoan BaezMarlon BrandoSidney Poitier August 28 1963: 250,000 people marched in Washington to the Lincoln Memorial. People from all walks of life participated – African Americans, European Americans, Christians, Jews, the elderly, the youth, the rich and the poor. The March on Washington was organised with the aim to acquire equal employment, integration and civil rights.

Some the rights they wanted included:

~ Immediate elimination of all racial segregation in public schools throughout the nation.~ A federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in hiring workmen- either public or private.~ Withholding of federal funds from programs in which discrimination exists What Happened? :Speakers included The `Big Six' leadersReligious leadersLabor Leader Walter ReutherCharles HestonJosephine Baker Why it happened RESPONSE Violence broke out in several states. It escalated in Birmingham where police shot two African American youths in the street and a church was bombed, killing four African-American choir girls. The March on Washington was the biggest peaceful demonstration the United States’ capital had ever hosted and was also the first to be broadcast on television. The exposure of the event highlighted to the world that America was ready for a change. The March was one of the principal factors of the Civil Rights bill being signed the following year. As one government official said: “ The soul of America has finally been stirred.” Short and long term effects: July 2, 1964: the Civil Rights Bill was signed by President Lyndon Johnson with Martin Luther King at his side. Segregation in public places was now illegal. 1965: Voting Rights Act is signed. ~ Public facilities were integrated in 300 cities across the nation.~ Bi-racial committees were becoming more accepted.~ Unemployment levels in the community declined. African Americans represent America in many ways:~ In competitive sport~ In government~ In the media What were negative effects of the March on Washington?~Assassinations~ Ku Klux Klan~ Poverty within African American communities. Civil rights and federal anti-discrimination laws not enforced by states ‘I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.“’ ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.’ Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech is representative of what all civil rights protestors wanted. After JFK's assassination and Lyndon Johnson, from the South, was elected in his place He swore to "use every ounce of skill I [Johnson] possess to get justice for the black American". Original purpose disputed: Raise awareness of issues concerning people of colourChallenge government inactionDeclare support for Kennedy and the Civil Rights Act PROMOTION BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.infoplease.com/spot/marchonwashington.html http://www.core-online.org/History/washington_march.htm http://www.history.com/topics/march-on-washington 31/8/2012-10/9/2012 31/8/2012 6-7/9/2012 www.yt.com/watch?v=_c2lLYuYU1I http://atlanticauctions.ca/images/birmingham-alabama-1963-bombing-i5.jpeg http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sydA_xCOkr0/S78i7O-1H5I/AAAAAAAAAdk/Zv8gJm2z088/s1600/Birmingham%20Bombing.jpg http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/randall/birmingham.htm 10/9/2012 http://images.wikia.com/althistory/images/c/c3/37_Lyndon_Johnson_3x4.jpg http://image2.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2003/48/6137907_1045634685.jpg http://tucsoncitizen.com/wildaboutazcats/files/2011/01/JFK1.jpg http://pilgrimpathways.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/jamesfarmer.jpg Voting restrictions in placeArrests and police violence at peaceful protestsFew job prospects for people of colour The March on Washington was promoted as an example of nonviolent resistance and how powerful the common people can be. It was not linked to any one religious faith or ethnic group, with black and white Christian and Jewish protesters present. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/sources/ps_washington.html JOHN LEWIS Leader of the SNCC Wrote a controversial speech critical of the Kennedy government. It contained such phrases as: "[W]e cannot support wholeheartedly the administration's civil rights bill. There's not one thing in the bill that will protect our people from police brutality." "Mr. Kennedy is trying to take the revolution out of the streets and put it into the courts." Parts of this speech were reworked at the insistence of the other civil rights leaders in order to make it less offensive to the government. http://www.forensicgenealogy.info/images/march_on_washington_john_lewis.jpg Years of the Dream: American Civil Rights 1954-1970. Francis, Debra; Heinemann; 1987.Kennedy and the promise of the Sixties. Rorabaugh, W.J; Cambridge University Press; 2002.Civil Rights in the USA, 1863-1980. Paterson, David; Willoughby, Susan; Willoughby, Doug; Heinemann; 2001.www.mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu Malone, Richard. Analysing Modern History. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2009. Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States, 1492-present. New York: Perennial Classics, 2003. BY Natasha, Anastasia and Caroline